Advice to get fire-affected pastures back on track

One-on-one pasture
recovery advice is now available to assist landholders affected by the March
fires get their pastures back on track ahead of the autumn break.

Extension officers from
Agriculture Victoria and WestVic Dairy have joined forces to deliver this new
service to ensure people can access information tailored specifically to their farm.

Michele Jolliffe from Agriculture
Victoria said many farmers affected by the recent fires were wanting to better
understand the full impact fires had on their pasture and how they might
respond to decent rainfall when it happens.

"Fires can have a
drastic effect on a pasture; changing the composition, reducing growth and their
carrying capacity in the following season," Ms Jolliffe said.

"No two farms are the
same and because the intensity of the fires varied so much, even in the same
paddock, we thought it would be most helpful to work with people one-on-one so
that those affected can develop a plan to get their pastures back to being
productive sooner."

Lindsay Ferguson from
WestVic Dairy said getting pastures established now to fill the winter feed
gap, would be high on farmers' recovery priority list.

"Fire-affected farms
will need to make decisions in a shorter timeframe than normal, given the
amount of work that they are doing to get up and running again," Mr Ferguson
said.

This special service
will help with feed budgeting and provide some tailored recommendations about
species, sowing rate and fertiliser which will help with those decisions."

To speak to an extension officer about your situation and to organise a
free visit please contact:

Farmers who need fodder
for their livestock can contact the Victorian Farmers Federation on 1300 882
833.

The Rural Financial Counselling Service is
also available to offer free and independent financial support to primary
producers and agriculture related small businesses. The service can be
contacted on 1300 735 578.

Following changes to the Victorian Government structure, the content on this site is in transition. There may be references to previous departments, these are being updated. Please call 136 186 to clarify any specific information.